A Weekly Meal Plan Starring Zingy Roast Chicken, Irresistible Homemade Fish Sticks, and Oodles of Fresh Herbs

Summer’s getting so close you can taste it, right? In this weekly meal plan, we’ve made cooking for the unofficial last week of spring equal parts easy, fun, and delicious. You’ll roast chicken legs and spaghetti squash on Monday, both of which will appear again later in the week. Wednesday you’ll make every kid’s favorite: fish sticks. But don’t worry, they’re packed with flavors and textures to keep the adults happy, too—and the recipe yields enough to freeze for a time-saving bonus meal later on. Finally, on Friday you’ll head into the holiday weekend with a light, fast supper that'll give you plenty of time to pack for your getaway.

Let’s start with the grocery list:

Pantry:

• Ground turmeric
• Ground allspice
• Ground cayenne
• Ground coriander
• Old Bay seasoning
• 1 jar oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional)
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Grapeseed or other neutral oil (for frying)
• Mayonnaise
• Country-style Dijon mustard
• Roasted, salted pistachios
• Pine nuts
• 12 ounces short pasta, such as gemelle
• Stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas
• Oil-cured black olives
• Capers
• Prepared salsa verde

Produce:

• 2–3 medium spaghetti squash (5–6 pounds total)
• 1 large red onion
• 1 head garlic
• 1 bunch carrots
• 1 large celery root
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 small bunch fresh dill
• 1 small bunch fresh mint
• 1 small bunch fresh basil
• 1 large bunch fresh parsley
• 1 (16-ounce) package chopped kale
• 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach
• 1 pint shiitake mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 avocado (choose a firm one since you'll be using it later in the week)
• 5 lemons

Dairy:

• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup crumbled feta or ricotta salata
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs

Butcher’s Counter:

• 8 chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks)

Seafood:

• 2 pounds firm white fish (such as cod)

Bakery:

• 1 loaf Italian bread (for Thursday’s dinner: freeze it early in the week)
• 4 brioche buns (for Friday’s dinner, so, same deal: freeze it)

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

MONDAY: PERSIAN SPICED CHICKEN WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH, POMEGRANATE, AND PISTACHIOS

Tonight’s your most complicated night, but you’re setting yourself up for the rest of the week to be a breeze. To get ahead, set aside one quarter of the raw red onion from the recipe and refrigerate it for Friday’s chickpea salad. While you roast the Persian-spiced chicken and spaghetti squash, throw in a second sheet pan with plain salt-and-peppered chicken legs along with extra spaghetti squash. (If you’re feeding a picky eater, season an additional leg with salt and pepper rather than the Persian spices.) After dinner, shred the extra chicken for tomorrow and scrape the squash for Thursday. Juice all the lemons you bought and refrigerate them to use throughout the week.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

TUESDAY: SHEET-PAN PASTA BAKE WITH CHICKEN AND KALE

This recipe is cheesy, creamy, and ready in 35 minutes. As soon as you get home, put on a pot of salted water for pasta. Use last night’s shredded chicken—and freeze any extra for next week. If sour cream’s not a staple for you, use some of the Greek yogurt you bought instead, and top the whole thing with whatever bread (or cracker) crumbs you have on hand.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Anna Stockwell

WEDNESDAY: OLD BAY SPICED FISH STICKS WITH CREAMY CELERY ROOT & CARROT SLAW

Homemade fish sticks take a little longer to make than the kind that come in a box, but they taste so much better. Prep double the amount of fish and freeze half for another time. Make cleanup easier by putting the cornstarch (or all-purpose flour, if you don’t have any) and cornmeal in disposable zipper-lock bags instead of bowls. And double the slaw recipe to serve leftovers with Friday night's sandwiches.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi

THURSDAY: SPAGHETTI SQUASH PUTTANESCA

With the spaghetti squash you already cooked Monday night, it’ll take less than 30 minutes to get this on the table. No anchovies on hand? Add an extra spoonful of capers. Reheat the squash in a covered dish in the oven while the tomato mixture roasts, and pop in the Italian bread for the last few minutes. While all that’s going, make a quick salad of baby spinach (save 1/2 cup for tomorrow), carrots shaved with a vegetable peeler, and a variety of those fresh herbs, and toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Top the puttanesca with either ricotta salata or feta (whichever you bought) and serve it with the bread and salad.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton

FRIDAY: CHICKPEA SALAD SANDWICHES

Think of this as the best vegetarian chicken salad you’ll ever have. Dinner’s on the table in about 20 minutes—no need to make the slaw, since you’ve already got some. Use prepared salsa verde in the chickpea mixture and skip the cilantro and lemon zest. Grab that red onion you saved to take the place of the shallot, use some more of your crumbled feta or ricotta salata, and serve the whole shebang alongside some of Wednesday’s awesome slaw. Now you’re ready to kick off your summer.